Improvement in the manufacture of gunpowder



UNITED STATES? Parana QB-F1635.

rmnuess'rnm GOURTETLLE, or new YORK, N. r, ASSIGNOR, .BY MEsNn' ASSIGNMENTS, TO'TltlUMPH SAFETY PO'WDER COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE,-

MAnYL AND.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GlJNPOWDER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 167,503, dated September'7, 1875 application lile l February 27, ltiTS.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, lilmumns'rum Corm- TEILLE, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Main ufacture of Blasting-Powder; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

The chief aim and purpose of my invention are to produce a powder for blasting, which,

" while having great dynamical power, (which I graduate for mining purposes,) shall possess the quality of being non-explosive in the open air, or by concussion or friction, and at the same time greatly reduce the cost of manufac turing, and completing the product in from one to two hours when amalgamated under my process. To this end my invention consists of a compound composed of the following ingredients, viz: Nitrate of soda or saltpcter, sulphur, and charcoal, which form the chief elements or base, and with these I colubine peat, metallic sulphates,- as well as coal of a hard nature, and the oils or-fats of animals, or tar of any kind which produces the equivalent results to the oleaginous matter. These ingredients comprise the compound, and are put under process in bulk.

While the proportions of these things maybe slight-1y varied, yet experiment has shown that the following have proven the best for the purpose, varying from the minimum to the maximum, according to the strength desired. For manufacturing one hundred pounds the proportions will be: nitrate of soda or saltpeter, sixty to seventy pounds; sulphur, ten to twelve pounds; charcoal, seven to ten pounds; peat and hard coal, nine to twelve pounds; combined metallic sulphates, two to four pounds;

. and olea-giuous matter, animal or vegetable, re-

fined or crude, one to three pounds. Tar in any form will answer the purpose of such oily matter. All the solid matters are pulverized and mixed together with the metallic sulphates; These are all subjected to the action of steam in an open vessel until thoroughly saturated, when the directapplicatiou ceases. With this I combine the action of external heat by superheated steam, the vessel being provided with a double bottom for that purpose. The eifect and result of this combined heating action aro'to bring the mixture to a uniform solution and perfect incorporation of the hot air, and under th s action of about fifteen minutes the powder is ready for packing.

The employment of peat, charcoal, and

hard coal makes the powder less inflammable,

or of slower combustion, and the combination with these ot' the metallic sulphates and the oily matters makes the powder non-explosive in the open air and from friction and concussion, and at the same time increases the strength when confined in the chamber of a mine. Were it not for the externalapplication of heat sinmltaneous with the direct an plication of steam the process would beprolonged and slow, and the incorporation of the ingredients would not be so perfect. The chemical reaction which occurs when the com pound has been in ebullition for a period of fifteen minutes consists in swelling or a development in bulk to an increase of about onethird of its volume, and this reaction would be defective, and the product in consequence less eflicient, were it not for the application of internal and external heat. The superheated steam avoids the use of fire and all danger arising therefrom, and hastens the process.

In the manufacture of powder by my process all dangers of explosion are avoided, human life relieved, from constant jeopardy, rates of insurance and transportation lessened,

security given to miners, and mining rendered more rem uneratire.

In practice. I have found that the combination of charcoal with peat and hard coal produces the best result in rendering the combustion less instantaneous, which, for blastingpowder, is a matter of great importance, and the combination of these with the sulphates of metal gives the best efi'ect in rendering the compound inexplosive in the open air and from concussion and friction; and I am not aware that these things have been combined in any known process for the manufacture of powder, nor that oils or fats have been employed in their natural condition with these things. In my process these things aretreated at once and completed in one operation, as stated, and. not carried on under separate operations. It is not new to combine peat, in the place of charcoal, with saltpeter and sulphur for making powder, and the state of the art shows sulphuric acid has been employed in connection with sawdust orligneous matter, and that a chemical metallic salt of sulphocyanide has been used with oleaginous matter and sulphuric acid. These things, however so combined, produce such deleterious gases as to render the manufacture of powder with them almost certain death to the operator.

An essential feature of my invention is to dispense with the use of glycerine, and yet obtain a strong powder b the combined action of the peat and hard coal with charcoal, metallic sulphates, and oils, making a new compound, and a very cheap and quick process for producing the powder.

I claimlhe process of manufacturing powder by compounding, under treatment of direct and externally-applied steam, of metallic sulphates, peat, charcoal, and oils or fats with saltpeter and sulphur, in the manner and in 

